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The Women in Planetary Science blog recently posted a summary of the discussion from their 2018 Lunar and Planetary Science Conference event. The post includes stories and a summary of strategies for combating impostor syndrome.

"Most of what we now know about the size and structure of the universe, we owe to the work of astronomer Henrietta Leavitt, born on July 4, 1868.

Her work provided later astronomers with a tool for measuring the distance to faraway points in the universe. Astronomers refer to object like these as "standard candles." Objects which are further away appear less bright than nearby objects; that's why our Sun is a blazing disc in the daytime sky, but Alpha Centauri is just a bright speck in the night sky. But if you know how bright something actually is, then you can compare that to how bright it appears from where you're standing, and then you'll know how far away it is."

"I am a regular reader of the AASWomen Newsletter from India and find it a very important source of learning.
I opened the COSPAR pdf that you posted and found a woman honoured among the Zeldovich Medalists: Remya Bhanu from India.
Just wanted to say there is one! The point remains that there is only one and probably none among the awards at senior level. (I also cannot interpret all names.)"

[Dr. Bhanu was recognized for "major contributions to generation of mirror mode and electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves in the magnetosphere and understanding of radiation belt dynamics." --eds]

"Scripps Institution of Oceanography recently held a symposium celebrating the 50th anniversary of the theory of Plate Tectonics. As part of the symposium, I moderated a panel of women geoscientists and geophysicists who were graduate students and postdocs at that time and many were among those who helped shape the theory themselves. They recounted their stories of being told that they couldn’t do math or science or go on research vessels simply because they were women. When they proved that they could do it, they were then told that they didn’t belong in the ‘community’ in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. I suspect the panel members spared us their most painful memories in such a public setting. Interestingly, some of these stories rang true for me too, though I was a student decades later."

The Science/AAAS Custom Publishing Office is hosting an hour long webinar on July 11, 2018 at 12:00 pm ET featuring an expert panel of scientists discussing efforts that institutions can implement to reduce the gender bias in science.

"The #metoo movement has swept Hollywood, politics, and even Uber. Is science next? This live roundtable discussion will address the continuing problem of gender-based discrimination in the sciences. Our expert panel will examine the efforts being taken by scientific organizations, academic centers, and funding agencies to end gender bias in science. They will also consider the cultural changes needed in the sciences to prevent and eradicate discrimination, including moving the narrative away from blaming the victim and excusing discriminatory behavior, and toward community responsibility. Only through collective action across the scientific community can we create workplaces that are gender equitable, nondiscriminatory, and bias-free."

"At university in New York City in the 2000s, a professor warned me that I wouldn’t get into any PhD programmes if I kept “looking” the way I did. During a single tenure-track job interview in 2011, 13 people asked me: “Do you have a wife?” And when I was an assistant professor, a colleague pulled aside a candidate for a postdoctoral position in my lab to let him know that I’m gay, just in case it would be a problem.

I doubt these people had bad intentions; much has changed since 1975, when gay men and lesbians were still banned from federal employment in the United States."

"There have been strong calls for scientists to share their discoveries with society. Some scientists have heeded these calls through social media platforms such as Twitter. Here, we ask whether Twitter allows scientists to promote their findings primarily to other scientists (“inreach”), or whether it can help them reach broader, non-scientific audiences (“outreach”). We analyzed the Twitter followers of more than 100 faculty members in ecology and evolutionary biology and found that their followers are, on average, predominantly (∼55%) other scientists. However, beyond a threshold of ∼1000 followers, the range of follower types became more diverse and included research and educational organizations, media, members of the public with no stated association with science, and a small number of decision-makers. This varied audience was, in turn, followed by more people, resulting in an exponential increase in the social media reach of tweeting academic scientists. Tweeting, therefore, has the potential to disseminate scientific information widely after initial efforts to gain followers. These results should encourage scientists to invest in building a social media presence for scientific outreach."